Footage has captured Virgil van Dijk announcing Xherdan Shaqiri’s presence as though he is royalty following his brace in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Manchester United.
The Swiss international came off the bench in the second half to earn the hosts a deserved three points with two well-worked, and admittedly deflected, quick-fire goals.
His strikes took his tally to five for the season across all competitions following his summer arrival from Stoke City for what is proving a bargain fee of £13million.
Not only did Shaqiri produce the finishing touches Liverpool required, but he proved key in injecting some much-needed composure in and around the penalty area following a brief spell of wild long-range efforts from the Reds.
Liverpool’s ‘Inside Anfield’ was at hand to catch the full-time tunnel reaction on camera, including Van Dijk’s rather fitting greeting.
“Big Shaq in the building,” the Dutchman can be heard shouting.
Van Dijk shouting ‘BIG SHAQ IN THE BUILDING’ in the tunnel after Man Utd game 😂 pic.twitter.com/AeQgX2zKT6
— James John (@JamesJohn2427) December 18, 2018
SEE MORE:
Rumoured Liverpool target set to be sold in January transfer window
A string of impressive performances of late has seen the forward play his way into starting contention across a vital festive period for the club.
With the vast improvement of Fabinho and Naby Keita equating to a greater reliability, Klopp will be feeling increasingly relaxed about deploying Shaqiri in his more attacking 4-2-3-1 system on a more regular basis.
It’s been a long time since Liverpool boasted such an array of game-changers off the bench.